


code of kin

by tatemarkhams



Series: these places we call home [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Canon, an exploration of adrien and chloe's friendship, these kids deserve all the love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 12:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10662639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatemarkhams/pseuds/tatemarkhams
Summary: “You’re not thinking of tying your blankets together and climbing down your window, are you? Because I can save you some time and tell you now that that’s not gonna work.”At the sound of Chloe’s voice, Adrien finally turned around. “It looked cool in the movies.” He shrugged, grinning like normal, like he hadn’t gone missing for more than 25 hours and had only been found less than an hour ago. “You’re supposed to be in school.”And you were supposed to stay at home and not run away but we all do things we shouldn’t, don’t we?(in which a mother is lost and a promise is made)





	code of kin

**Author's Note:**

> ok so i sat down to write the next chapter of YBSH when i got sidetracked thinking of things that will happen in the future and in the past of that verse and i just fell in love with this idea and i knew i wouldn't be able to sleep until i wrote it
> 
> also this event may or may not be brought up in the main storyline in the the future 
> 
> u might want to give this song a listen as u read because i had it on loop while i was writing and i think it shows https://soundcloud.com/reeselansangan/code-of-kin-original-song

 

_won’t you curse the day_

_when they try to take_

_your soul away from you now_

 

* * *

 

Chloé Bourgeois kept a list of all that she had lost in her life. Being the darling daughter of Paris meant that she had more than most people her age had – money, fame, the whole package of a glamorous life – but the amount of things she didn’t have outweighed it all. The recent addition to that open ended list was an unforeseen blow that landed on the wrong side of her metaphorical scales.

 

_Her mother._

_Her father’s attention._

_Her endless queue of convenient (friends) acquaintances._

_And now, Madame Agreste._

 

Even at the age of fourteen, Chloé had the art of suffering down to perfection – like everything she did (and because no less was expected of her). She would throw hissy fits and scream bloody murder over mismatched gold, but discovering that she was being used as a pawn for another one of his father’s political games warranted nothing from her but tight-lipped silence and steely gazes.

 

She was used to it.

 

But Adrien wasn’t. And Chloé wouldn’t ever want him to get used to it.

 

“The young master is not allowed to see visitors today.” A bulky, ape-like man that Chloé had never seen before barred the entrance to Adrien’s bedroom. His size alone was daunting enough, but the no-nonsense expression he wore made him almost threatening.  _Almost._

 

“I’m not a  _visitor._ I’m Adrikins’ best friend. I practically grew up in this house.” Chloé rolled her eyes at him. She was definitely not in the mood for this, not now.

 

“I was instructed not to let anyone through.” The man rumbled, the muscles in his face barely moving. At this point, Chloé was wishing she had worn her rings so she could punch the daylights out of him and bolt through the door.

 

“I am not  _just_ anyone. Don’t you know who I am? You should learn it if you want to keep your job or maybe I should call Papa and make sure you never –“

 

“Mademoiselle Bourgeois,” Nathalie appeared at the end of the hallway, tucking that ever-present tablet under her arm as she approached them. “I would appreciate it if you didn’t harass our newly hired staff.”

 

Chloé frowned. She could probably count with one hand the number of people who were immune to her intimidation tactics and it just so happened that Nathalie Sancoeur was one of them. Unsurprisingly, Chloé didn’t like her very much and the feeling was mutual. “Tell him to let me in before I punch him in the face then.”

 

“Chloé,” Nathalie sighed, regarding her with an uncharacteristically worn-out and pleading look.  “You were informed of Adrien’s safe return so you didn’t have to keep calling the mansion every hour. It wasn’t  so you could come marching down here as soon as you were noted of his arrival.”

 

“Oh well, I’m sorry for thinking that Adrikins could use the company of someone who  _actually cared_ about him.” She allowed a bit of venom to seep into her words and saw something flicker behind Nathalie’s eyes. There were times she thought that Gabriel Agreste’s assistant may not be as heartless as she seemed.

 

“He wishes to be left alone.”

 

“He wants  _you_ to leave him alone. I’m sure if he knew that his concerned and loving best friend was here, he’d want to see me. ”

 

Nathalie said nothing. She only stared at Chloé as if she could will her to go away with her cold gaze.Too bad Chloé was just as good at giving death glares.

 

 

“We both know I’m not leaving until I see him so you might as well let me through this goddamn door before I start breaking something here.” Chloé took a step towards Nathalie who was still staring her down, calculating if it was worth the trouble and the possible damage to have a kicking and screaming teenager escorted out of the premises.

 

“Very well then.” Nathalie sighed in defeat, motioning for the ape-man to step away from the door. “He’s still not allowed to go outside his room. Monsieur Agreste’s orders.”

 

“Monsieur Agreste’s orders.” Chloé muttered under her breath as she stepped through the door. “What, is he running a prison around here?”

 

Adrien had his back to her, standing by the windows with his shoulders slouched as he stared at god-knows-what. He made no movement as the door shut behind Chloé, not even as she made her way across the room and plopped herself on his couch.

 

“You’re not thinking of tying your blankets together and climbing down your window, are you? Because I can save you some time and tell you now that that’s not gonna work.”

 

At the sound of Chloé’s voice, Adrien finally turned around. “It looked cool in the movies.” He shrugged, grinning like normal, like he hadn’t gone missing for more than 25 hours and had only been found less than an hour ago. “You’re supposed to be in school.”

 

_And you were supposed to stay at home and not run away but we all do things we shouldn’t, don’t we?_

 

She swallowed the bitter remark and propped her chin on her hands, batting her eyelashes at him instead. “Oh, Adrikins, I told you I’m the school’s sweetheart. Of course, they’d let me have a little break if I asked.” If asking meant disrupting an ongoing class by causing a scene and engaging her teacher in a screaming match until they let her go, then yes, she did ask. “By the way, since when was the gorilla part of your staff?”

 

“ _Gorilla_?”

 

“The huge man by the door that looks like a gorilla? Tried to keep me from entering until I taught him a lesson and showed him just who he’s dealing with here.”

 

Adrien frowned at this. “Oh. He was part of the team Father hired to search for me. He’s also my bodyguard now that Father’s keeping a tighter leash on me so I won’t ever go that far again. Not like I’d want to, anyway.”

 

“I haven’t heard the exact details yet.” Chloé tilted her head up to look at him with curiosity. “How far did you go?”

 

“Compiègne, I think. The Gorilla found me sitting on some random park bench there.” Adrien dropped on the couch beside her, and Chloé was just a little pleased that he stuck with the nickname she gave her bodyguard. “I got there on foot from here. Father almost gasped when he heard. Aren’t you impressed?”

 

“Impressed? Annoyed is more like it.” Chloé scoffed, swinging her legs and resting them on Adrien’s lap as she stretched over the couch. “I’m getting tired just from listening to you talk about how much you walked. Seriously, Adrikins, what were you thinking?”

 

Any last bit of pretend amusement that Adrien held suddenly fell, replaced by a look of so much yearning and vulnerability that it was like a punch to Chloé’s gut. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I just…I really miss her.”

 

She knew this, of course. Chloé had never known the love of her mother but she had known the warmth of Adrien’s. She had dressed Chloé in pretty dresses and told her and Adrien stories of enchanted creatures and superheroes. It was Madame Agreste who cared for her when Chloé was only a child and her father was too busy building his political career to raise her himself.

 

More than her own mother’s (who Chloé only knew from her father’s stories), Madame Agreste’s disappearance had made it harder to keep up appearances and carry on like nothing was wrong with her. But she managed.

 

When she didn’t say a word, Adrien took a deep breath and met her eyes. “It’s been a week, Chloé. And I just couldn’t sit here like Father and do nothing. I didn’t know where to find her, I didn’t even know where to begin. All I knew was that I hated feeling useless here.”

 

“So your solution was to leave without a trace and disappear just like she did?”

 

Adrien flinched at her words but Chloé didn’t have it in her to feel regretful. “I-I didn’t think of it like that. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry any of you and cause trouble.” Then the look on his face was heartbreaking, and it was so wrong, so unjust of the world because Adrien, who was always nice and good, didn’t deserve to look like that now or ever.

 

Chloé exhaled. “Oh well, since I am so very kind, I suppose I can forgive you.” She kicked her leg up, nearly hitting Adrien square in the nose as she tried to sit up. Leaning on Adrien’s side, Chloé clung to his arm and looked up at him sweetly. “But only if you agree to a sleepover.”

 

“What? Right now?” Adrien blinked at her.

 

“Mhm.” Chloé hummed, reaching for the phone in her pocket. “I’ll call my butler and have my things sent over here. We can watch anime and you can do my hair and paint the nails on my right hand. It’ll be just like the old times.”

 

Adrien suddenly looked like he was miles away. “Just like the old times, huh?”

 

Neither of them mentioned the fact that the old times also consisted of Adrien’s mother assisting them on their pranks on Gabriel, building blanket forts with them, and tucking them both to bed. The knowledge of it already hung too heavy in the air without needing to be spoken of.

 

“Alright.” Bumping her knee with his, a smile formed on Adrien’s face – the first real one Chloé has seen since she arrived.

 

“Alright, then.”

 

In less than thirty minutes, every corner of Adrien’s room was cluttered with Chloé’s stuff – her pillows, blankets, stuffed animals, and a surprising amount of clothes for a one-night sleepover. It didn’t take much to convince Gabriel Agreste to let her stay overnight although he had never been much of a fan of hers. Chloé presumed there was some comfort in knowing his son  at least wouldn’t try and run away again at night when he had a guest to entertain.

 

They watched anime, like she said. Some kind of magical girl show that Adrien absolutely adored and Chloé found silly. Then again it had always been her role to mock the absurdity and make loud commentary while Adrien shushed her and defended his shows.

 

_“Why did I suggest this again? This is so dumb. Why would there be an egg inside their hearts?”_

 

_“Because you love me. And shush, Chloé, it’s their hopes and dreams!”_

 

_“They look the same with or without their costumes! How come no one ever recognizes them?”_

 

_“Don’t question it. It’s magic, Chlo. Magic.”_

 

_“It’s stupid is what it is.”_

 

They sat together on the floor with their backs against the foot of the couch as Chloé tried to achieve some sense of normalcy by throwing a handful of popcorn at the TV during the cheesiest parts like she always did.

 

It was a good distraction. Even if it only lasted for a little while.

 

Much later, Chloé found herself taking advantage of Adrien’s indulgent mood by painting his nails the gaudiest color of nail polish she had – neon green so bright that they almost glowed in the dark. She was halfway through Adrien’s second hand when he wondered out loud, “Why do you think she left?”

 

She paused for a moment, seriously considering the question before going back to the task at hand. “My best guess? She realized how horrible your father’s hair was and ran for the hills before it contaminated her.”

 

“Chloé.” Adrien whined, wiggling the hand Chloé was painting. “I’m being serious.”

 

Glaring at him, Chloé smacked his hand to stay still. “So am I. You’re so lucky you have her hair. You’ll never have to look like you have the butt of a duck sticking out of your empty head.

 

That made Adrien laugh, at least. Then he went quiet again, going back to that dangerous train of thought and Chloé contemplated if breaking his fingers would make him stop thinking for a moment.“I guess I never thought she’d wake up one day and leave without so much as a goodbye. I always thought we were happy here, you know? Now I feel stupid for thinking that was going to last forever.”

 

She couldn’t help the sudden flare of hatred she felt for Adrien’s mother for leaving. Because  _how could she. How could she do this to Adrien._

 

It would have been fine if it was just her. She was aware of her own flaws – how selfish and cruel she could be to people. There was only so much she could get away with before the hand of the universe struck and punished her. And if her retribution was Madame Agreste leaving only her, she would have said nothing and suffered in silence.  Because she would have deserved it.

 

But not Adrien. Because Adrien had a heart of gold and had been nothing but selfless and had only ever wanted to be with his family.

 

“Of course, it wasn’t going to last forever, you idiot. Because we’re going to grow up and get married and live happily ever after. Can you imagine how beautiful our children are going to be?” Chloé sang as she finished the last of Adrien’s nails, looking appreciatively at her handiwork from a distance.

 

“We’re fourteen!” Adrien exclaimed, taking his hand back to blow a breath on the wet nail polish. “And besides, you don’t even like me like that!”

 

“So? What does that matter?”

 

Adrien looked at her like she had just grown a second head. “It matters because you should marry someone you’re in love with.”

 

Chloé made a face at him, bluntly reminded that Adrien lived and breathed the romance movies he liked to watch. “Blech, whatever. I’ll convince you someday.”

 

With a drawn out sigh, Chloé collapsed beside him, taking one of the stuffed animals she brought and burying half of her face in it.

 

“Adrien?” Chloé spoke quietly without looking at him. Her eyes were somber as they stared up at the ceiling, and Adrien knew that whatever she was about to say next was going to be  important. “Promise you won’t go looking for her on your own again. If you ever do plan on running away, I’ll go with you. But don’t leave me here alone, okay?”

 

Adrien watched Chloé hardly move, so dead serious and so not Chloé-like that it was almost comical. “Only if you don’t spend the whole way complaining about what the humidity does to your hair.”

 

“Please. You underestimate me.” Chloé huffed, waving a finger in his face and running her free hand down her hair to prove her point. “Not even the humidity can ruin my perfect hair.”

 

“Yeah, right. Bet you wouldn’t make it an hour without calling your dad and asking him to take you home.”

 

“Bet he wouldn’t even notice I was gone until I actually called for rescue.”

 

There was a long pause after that. Because this was their reality now. They were a couple of spoiled, rich, and unhappy kids stuck in shitty and hopeless family issues.

 

It was Adrien who broke the silence with one word. “Okay.”

 

“Okay?” Chloé asked, observing him from her peripheral vision.

 

“Yeah, I promise.” Adrien gave her an apologetic smile. “I promise I won’t run away again.” With that, Chloé felt the heavy weight lifted off of her chest because Adrien never ever broke his promises. And all she wanted from him was to not leave her like everyone else did.

 

“Good.” Chloé said, lying on her side so she could look at him properly. “Because I can’t be the left here as the only remaining incredible person in Paris. That’s too much pressure even for someone as fantastic as me.”

 

“I’m sure you wouldn’t be the only one. What about your friend from school, Sabrina?” Adrien raised his eyebrows at her.

 

Chloé frowned. “Sabrina’s fine most of the time but all she does is agree with everything I say. That’s no fun.”

 

Adrien laughed to himself. “Looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me, then. You can count on me to disagree with you all the time.”

 

“Not all the time!” Chloé glared at Adrien, taking out her frustrations on a stuffed animal by throwing it so far across the room that it hit the windows. “Agh, Marinette already does that and it’s so annoying! We don’t need more than one of her in this world!”

 

“Marinette?”

 

As if the very mention of the name grated on her nerves, Chloé’s eyes narrowed into slits. “Yeah, that girl from class that’s always contradicting all my best ideas just because they’re so much better than hers!”

 

“What best ideas?” Adrien was grinning cheekily at her.

 

Her annoyance shifting from the girl in her class to Adrien, Chloé kicked him lightly in the shin which only made Adrien laugh harder. “Adrikins, you’re a darling but I’m going to kick you off your own bed.”

 

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Retreating to his side, Adrien turned over, mirroring the way  Chloé rested on the bed. “Tell me more. About school. What’s it like?”

 

It was always something he asked her, but it used to be a question made in passing - just an idle wonderment for Adrien. It seemed much more now, the way he asked it with eagerness in his eyes like the experience was something he wanted to know firsthand.

 

She both dreaded and awaited the day that Adrien would attend public school. There was no doubt in her mind that he would love it - meeting new people, making friends, and maybe even homework because he was an absolute nerd.

 

But Chloé was selfish. She knew that the day Adrien started school could mean the possible end of their friendship, or at least the way there were now. It wasn’t only that she didn’t want to share him. It was that she knew she would drive him away because the way she was in school and the way the was when she was at the Agreste household were the worst and the best versions of Chloé Bourgeois respectively.

 

For now, she fed his curiosity by telling him stories of how everyone in her class loved her, and how she had been class president for three consecutive years, and how many gifts she gets every year from her classmates on Valentine’s Day.

 

Beside her, Adrien listened intently, hanging on to every word of her half-truths like it was his lifeline.

 

It was then that Chloé decided that she would be keeping that list of all that she’s lost in her life for a long time. It wasn’t a big deal. She was used to it, after all.

 

_Her mother._

_Her father’s attention._

_Her endless queue of convenient acquaintances._

_Madame Agreste._

 

Her list was open-ended, always awaiting the next addition to the record. But Chloé would fight heaven and hell to make sure Adrien Agreste never ever became a part of it.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU ALWAYS TO CAT FOR HAVING MY BACK! WOULDN'T HAVE FINISHED ANYTHING WITHOUT YOU! <3
> 
> hey remember when adrien not-really-ran-away-but-still-technically-left-home in the christmas episode? let's forget that happened, yeah? shhhh
> 
> let me know what you think!


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